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adapalmer.bsky.social
Ada Palmer
@adapalmer.bsky.social
30K followers 4.5K following 8.7K posts
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Novelist (SF fantasy), historian (UChicago Renaissance, Enlightenment, Italy, classical reception), composer (filk, Norse myth), disability (chronic pain), manga/anime (Tezuka), food, history pics #SomethingBeautiful Blog exurbe.com
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adapalmer.bsky.social
Ada Palmer @adapalmer.bsky.social · Jan 28
“Inventing the Renaissance” is a history of histories of this (not so) golden age. Much of making history is simply adding new POVs to the braid as historians ask new & more diverse questions w/ each generation. I hope you’ll enjoy my effort to show the process at work! 25/25 https://buff.ly/4j6qkoS
The Vasari corridor bending around the Mannelli tower, whose tall stone edifice blocks its otherwise gentle descent. Last week my story about this building made it a celebration of resistance against conquerors, as the bend in the corridor shows the citizens of the city defying the tyrant who wanted to blast his corridor through the ancient tower that was the birthright of an old respected family, and was forced to go around, leaving this bend which has stood ever since as a symbol of resistance against the tyrant. From the inside, it's a super awkward narrow twisty space where you have to turn, and anyone with a walker or a scooter struggles to make the turns. Looks very different depending on your point of view, literally and figuratively!
Reposted by Ada Palmer
bookswain.bsky.social
“Though it be certain, That neither Sin, nor a Rectangular Triangle, to which Nature is attributed in these Propositions, are either of them Subtances.”

An 18th century engraving of John Locke inserted into my 1697 copy of one of Locke’s replies to the Bishop of Worcester. Quote from the book.
📚💙
A book opened with the title page just visible on the right and an engraving of John Locke after a portrait by Kneller on the left, labeled “engraved by Henry Cook”. #Locke #17thc #EarlyModern
December 5, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
gregpak.net
I really can't emphasize enough that if you care about local politics, all you gotta do is show up. Just a regular schmegular person showing up. Literally just show up consistently in person and within a remarkably short amount of time, you will have a shocking amount of influence.
December 5, 2025 at 6:07 AM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
womenof1000.bsky.social
Looking for a gift for the history lover in your life? Consider the Women of 1000 calendar! Meet a different woman each month from the year 1000. This year, we've got a few throwbacks to the first calendar mixed in with the most recent illustrations.

#MedievalSky 🗃️

www.lulu.com/shop/meg-hyl...
Picture. Cover of the 2026 calendar. Shows the illustration Murasaki Shikibu, a Japanese writer in a moonlit room, as the cover image. Picture. The back of the 2026 calendar. Shows three rows of four images labelled with the title and location of each illustration.
December 5, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
medievalists.bsky.social
How to Make a Medieval Omelet www.medievalists.net/2025/10/medi... #recipes
How to Make a Medieval Omelet - Medievalists.net
Explore how to make an omelet, medieval-style, from a 14th-century Egyptian cookbook.
www.medievalists.net
December 5, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
artologica.net
The Squirrel of the Day for December 5, 2025 is very round #sqrlpix
very round gray squirrel with walnut
December 5, 2025 at 2:13 PM
adapalmer.bsky.social
The U.K. will ban the sale of plastic-based wet wipes from 2026, targeting a major source of sewer blockages and riverine microplastics. The ban forces a full market shift toward biodegradable alternatives that the treatment plants can actually handle. tinyurl.com/2b3srnmh
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Plastic wet wipes to be banned from spring 2027 in England
England is bringing in a ban on plastic wet wipes from 2027. This will mean they then have the same rules as the rest of the UK.
tinyurl.com
December 5, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
laurajcleaver.bsky.social
Our intensive course on editing Medieval Latin texts returns for summer 2026! Ideal for graduate students working with unpublished texts. In person, in London. Book now👇 ☀️📖📚✍️ @ies-sas.bsky.social @ihr.bsky.social @warburginstitute.bsky.social #MedievalSky

ies.sas.ac.uk/study-traini...
Textual Editing: philosophical and theological texts throughout the Middle Ages
This course introduces students to textual editing, especially of Latin writings belonging to the earlier and later medieval philosophical and theological tradition
ies.sas.ac.uk
December 5, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
laurajcleaver.bsky.social
Can’t get to London for summer school? In Jan we are running online courses. Forget the cold by exploring medieval manuscripts. Classes are small so book now! 👇
@ies-sas.bsky.social @warburginstitute.bsky.social @senatehouselib.bsky.social @ihr.bsky.social #MedievalSky
ies.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
IES: LIPS & LRBS Winter School | 2026
ies.sas.ac.uk
December 5, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
sarahebond.bsky.social
UNC medievalist Brett Whalen (and altogether stellar human who was admittedly on my dissertation committee) was on American Medieval with @profgabriele.com. And I gotta admit that … I like my Jesus history with a Vermont accent. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...
Medieval Jesus with Brett Whalen
Podcast Episode · American Medieval · 12/03/2025 · 53m
podcasts.apple.com
December 5, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
jul3sg.bsky.social
Did not expect to see this book of yours discussed on Reactor, @adapalmer.bsky.social

Great article, @r-emrys.bsky.social

reactormag.com/infernal-gra...
Infernal Gravity and the Logic of Death Scenes: Ada Palmer’s Inventing the Renaissance - Reactor
A fascinating look at how societies manufacture the myth of a Golden Age
reactormag.com
December 5, 2025 at 6:34 AM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
theriotnrrd.bsky.social
If you are still looking for gifts, I thoroughly enjoyed this review of @adapalmer.bsky.social’s wonderful book “Inventing The Renaissance” by @r-emrys.bsky.social — who is herself a wonderful writer, do check out her books too!
Infernal Gravity and the Logic of Death Scenes: Ada Palmer’s Inventing the Renaissance - Reactor
A fascinating look at how societies manufacture the myth of a Golden Age
reactormag.com
December 5, 2025 at 7:35 AM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
dbellingradt.bsky.social
Arrival!
A giant citrus fruit flying above the city of "Nürnberg".
December 5, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
dbellingradt.bsky.social
A small group of humans, and a dog, pretending there is no giant citrus fruit flying above them...
And another one. What a great book.
December 5, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
dbellingradt.bsky.social
Sometimes humans are included into the images too. As spectators of giant citrus fruits, these few humans in the book are mostly standing outside and pretending not to see the giant fruits from above. Zoom in, there is one person walking in the garden...
Another page. This time, a "Bergamotte della" is flying over a nice geraden (in which someone walks).
December 5, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
dbellingradt.bsky.social
What looks like an alien starship visiting a small country estate in eighteenth-century Germany is in fact, *checks notes* a giant pomelo. So nothing to see here, #skystorians
A giant pomelo over a country estate. The image is part of a book about famous citrus fruits of Nuremberg (VD18 14760916).
December 5, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
neglectedbooks.com
The kind of preface that makes me want to keep reading. From Bellamy the Magnificent: An Extravaganza (1904) by Roy Horniman.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE THE Author regrets that in arranging the materials for this book the morals were unaccountably mislaid.
December 5, 2025 at 5:35 AM
adapalmer.bsky.social
A really good (and hilarious) essay on the problems of people using AI as search engines
December 5, 2025 at 5:34 AM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
rwmead.bsky.social
For some reason this reminds me of the story of how the team who worked on the CGI-animated Muppet Babies reboot accidentally rendered Animal without his fur and the end result was so hilarious and disturbing they adopted it as an unofficial mascot they named “Blurph”
Blurph, a Muppet Baby who is simply Animal without fur
December 4, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
sky.skymarchini.net
Post Conversation Got CTE from playing Peek-A-Boo @doulbedoink Jake Sully is a weird figure in Na’vi history, like what if Rachel Dolezal was also George Washington 9:53 PM · Dec 3, 2025 · 317.2K Views https://x.com/doulbedoink/status/1996412505116340387?s=20
December 5, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
klonick.bsky.social
🚨
I am hearing from multiple sources that the EU Commission is announcing its first DSA fine tomorrow against X on ad transparency, blue check & dark pattern, and researcher access to data.

The fine is in the "100s of millions of Euros."

Elon about to get big mad.
December 4, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
adapalmer.bsky.social
Powerful new malaria drug offers first serious alternative to artemisinin in decades. Novartis’ new drug cured more than 97% of malaria cases in a Phase 3 trial of 1,688 adults and children across 12 African countries. buff.ly/agdifWX
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buff.ly
December 4, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
sonjadrimmer.bsky.social
Framing GenAI as a battle between teachers and students is a red herring. Students and educators are on the same side. The real opposition are the data extraction firms and brokerages and their allies among the managerial class.
December 4, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
blueheronfarm.bsky.social
He could fix me
December 4, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
ketanjoshi.co
HEY FRIENDS!! Did you know that Australia - #2 in the world for data centre investment - is now formally missing its climate targets thanks in large part to the resulting surge in power demand?

It's massive news - @crikey.com.au let me NERD OUT to explain why:

www.crikey.com.au/2025/12/04/d...
Artificial intelligence and data centres Australia is building domestic capabilities in artificial intelligence. Home chevron_right Do business with Australia chevron_right Explore a sector chevron_right Technology chevron_right AI and data centres On this page Helping to power digital transformation Australian AI Industry Capability Report Why buy Australian AI Why invest in Australia Strategic location as a data centre hub Australia emerges as an AI powerhouse How we can help Success stories Incentives, grants and support Snapshot - Data centres Snapshot - Artificial Intelligence Strategic direction Industry and research ecosystem How Austrade can help Helping to power digital transformation Australia is becoming a regional data centre hub, and a global leader for artificial intelligence (AI). We are helping to power digital transformation in the Asia Pacific and the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies scross broad sectors. Our economy hosts an outsized AI industry, including over 1,100 private AI companies. Adoption of AI is strong across society, with over 400 public firms developing or deploying AI solutions. Our vibrant AI ecosystem and proximity to Asia means we are becoming a service provider for the region, with AI-related patents quadrupling over the past decade. Sydney and Melbourne are both top-ten data centre markets in the Asia-Pacific region. Australia’s abundance of renewable energy resources means we are a great location for regional, green data centres. This includes supplying Asia via subsea cables. Australia aims to become a global leader in developing and adopting trusted, secure and responsible artificial intelligence, led by the National Artificial Intelligence Centre. Australian AI Industry Capability Report Unlocking potential with Australian AI, an industry capability report on Australia’s capabilities and expertise in artificial intelligence, highlights the achievements of Australian companies in the growing sector. Austra…
December 4, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Reposted by Ada Palmer
tumerboy.bsky.social
A drawing of the Enterprise E from behind, with a pinky/purpley space backdrop including a large planet just poking into frame from above. Text says: "Much like the Federation, I too have lofty ideals and no money."
December 4, 2025 at 11:06 PM